Friday, September 4, 2015

Mark Arland, The Positives - 20

That
career had ended years earlier after just four seasons. It also ended
with Arland never making AA. But things still seemed to work out, he told The Spokesman-Review in 1998.

"If I would have played pro baseball (longer)," Arland told The Spokesman-Review, "I wouldn't have met my wife, Kuray. That's one of the positives in my life."

By then, Arland was playing in the local softball leagues. He left Spokane as a high school star drafted into the pros.

Arland's professional career began in 1988, taken by the Reds in the 11th round out of Central Valley High School in Washington.

With the Reds, Arland started in the rookie Gulf Coast League.
The outfielder hit just .197 in 47 games. He moved to single-A
Greensboro for 1989, but hit little better. He finished with a .200
average in 76 games.

Arland
came back for 1991, but he got into just 43 games between Charleston
and single-A Cedar Rapids. He went 1 for 3 in a May game, starting a rally with a double. But it was his final season as a pro.